Economic recession, social alienation and feelings of anomie resulted in pools of disenfranchised youth gathering in online communities to express their sense of purposelessness. Initially, many of these spaces offered group support, but eventually became politicised and radicalised by the emerging alt-right. The most susceptible members were low-income men with an affinity for gaming. Vocal about their social ineptitude and lack of sexual experiences with women, they believe there is nothing left to unironically fight for. To them, video games aren’t simply pastimes, but political tools and antidotes to a broken reality that cannot be saved, only ignored or destroyed. Real-life wars are romanticised for their ability to trigger survival instincts, thereby inducing an objective or purpose. No longer stimulated by virtual wounds or attracted to flesh-and-blood women, radicalised members feel apathetic and alienated from their physical bodies, yearning for real-life wounds and physical manifestations of their fictional anime wives that could shock their bodies into feeling alive.

This installation is a synthesis of three works: Dear God I Just Want to Feel, a_rose_is_a_rose, and You Are All I See.